Now this guide doesn’t cover all food places, but you get a rough idea on what to look for while on the island. You get to also catch a glimpse of their amazing fresh seafood (that are HUGE) from the wet market, and what we were served after they’re cooked. Drinks are also covered in this post! 😉

This is a huge, photo heavy post so I suggest you allow your browser to load everything before scrolling below. Also, the posts will be in this order: FOOD–DESSERT–DRINKS.

REAL COFFEE (Station 2)
Yes, this place serves real coffee, and pretty good too according to my friends. I’m not a coffee person but their iced-chocolate is amazing! I’ll sing my praises for the food as well because the tuna grilled sandwich I ordered is totally kickass (I’m a big fan of tuna). We ordered these Calamansi Muffins as well, and they are uniquely delicious. The shop is located above Seaworld, and it overlooks the beach – literally a breakfast with a view. It’s open 7am-7pm, perfect place to grab a bite before your water sports activities.

Breakfast with a view!

The whole island is filled with quirky little quotes like this! The Filipinos have a good sense of humor! 🙂

Grilled tuna sandwich with caramelised onions! So good that I didn’t bother sharing. :p

ARMY NAVY (Station 1)
Despite its name, it doesn’t serve American food but an American-Mexican fusion. You get burritos and tacos here as well as burgers. The one (and perhaps only) place to practice Taco Tuesdays on the island. Their burgers are alright but the burritos are really good. But what got me hooked was their Freedom Fries! Perfectly cooked fries that are downright crispy and tasty – a winning combination!

Their amazing medley of sauces.

BIG MOUTH (D’Mall, Station 2)
Their logo goes something like “come hungry, leave happy”. But in actual fact, we left feeling full but disappointed. One of the few places that sells local Filipino cuisine, my friends (who are half Filipino and have tasted real, good local food) told me the food there is diluted and a sad half-version of the actual thing. It’s like tourists in Malaysia who get conned into eating tasteless bah kut teh (a Chinese herbal pork dish) in overrated franchises in KL (we know the only place for good, authentic bah kut teh is in Klang!). So yeah, I ordered the bulalo (beef soup) and it tasted like beef cooked in water. My other friends ordered other things as well which were also unsatisfactory. The only thing that was good is their mango shake.

The fried milkfish.

ARIA CUCINA ITALIANA / CAFE DEL SOL (Station 2)
These are two restaurants side-by-side, same owner. Aria serves good Italian food while Cafe del Sol serves good coffee and amazingly good cakes. We dined in Aria and I had the diavolo pizza which was good. We also had their panini bread (like the starter kind) which my friend loved so much, he ordered another basket. They are also big on their Filipino breakfast, which comes with rice (too heavy for my liking) and a piece of milkfish. Food is good, prices are pretty steep too – but worth the burp. Cafe del Sol has decent coffee, good service as well and you need to try their Mango Cheesecake. Apparently it’s one of their bestsellers and I can taste why, it’s bloody amazing! Try it to believe it. I also went there on my last day to have their chicken pan de sal, a common Filipino bread.

The pan de sal with chicken filling.

JAMMERS (Station 2)
A 24-hour fast food chain that serves mainly burgers and hotdogs. We heard it was good – we tried it, and was very disappointed. Granted, their burgers are huge, but they tasted.. mediocre. Even McDonalds’ burgers are more satiating to the appetite. It’s a huge letdown, and I had their hotdog – the bread was way too dry and the condiments were not very fresh. Don’t even talk about the orange juice! At PHP100 per glass, you get a tiny cup that is half a regular glass – and to add insult to the overpriced meal: it tasted diluted and weird.

D’TALIPAPA – NATALIA’S KUSINA (Station 2)
The word d’talipapa translates to ‘wet market’, which is what this is about. Probably one of the best, most epic meals we had in Boracay. D’Talipapa consists of a wet market area with mongers selling the most fresh and amazing array of seafood – huge lobsters, large cockles, clams, crab, sea urchin, prawns and all the amazing seafood you can think of. They are all huge, live and fresh.

We were lucky to be with two friends who are from Manila, and they managed to get us a regular price (as opposed to the tourist prices they usually charge). Grabbing our fresh haul of seafood, we made way to one of the few ‘cooking service’ restaurants, Natalia’s Kusina, for them to weigh and note down on the cooking style we want for each dish. Naturally, they charge a cooking fee per kilo (depending on what style of cooking we want) and additional charges are from tax and drinks and extra things like their amazing garlic rice.

Garlic rice, and their soy sauce with lime and chillies.

The butter prawns.. so good, I had so many!

The cheese baked oyster is fabulous!

I have to say, best meal ever! You need to try this out in Boracay if you love seafood. This is one thing not to be missed. And the total bill to feed 8 ravenous people? PHP 6,650: Inclusive of all the seafood, cooking services, and extras: ONLY PHP831/MYR65 per person. So worth it!

Now that we’ve covered the food section, here are some drink bars and fun places to hang out at. As mentioned in the Party & Activity guide, the Boracay Pub Crawl activity would help you discover more bars as you go along. Some of the places featured here are alcohol-free, and perfect for those of you who don’t drink.

EPIC BAR & CLUB (Station 2)
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this place seems to be the ‘in’ place where locals and tourists alike flock into for a good dance and drinks. The drinks served here are very much like any regular bar along the beach, but I like how they have really buff bouncers patrolling the beach side (in case of any drunken fights or perhaps, drunkards drowning themselves out at sea?) Because we sat out on the beach, there were quite a number of local peddlers stopping by to sell their goods – amongst them is the infamous Filipino delicacy, balud. What is it? It is a duck’s egg, containing a half-formed duck, cooked in herbal broth. It’s kind of gross, but my friends and boyfriend decided to give this a try. It doesn’t look so great later on when they are all picking grey feathers out from between their teeth.

BEACH HUT BAR (Station 2)
One of the best places to get a cools drink, or a beer. They have these very nice bottles that comes with your desired drink, and with that bottle, you will get drink refills at a lower price for the rest of your life – just as long as you bring your Beach Hut Bar bottle along. Pretty awesome deal! And this time round, with each drink purchase, we got a little plastic coconut drink holder (with plastic straw) for free.

NIGI NIGI NU NOOS BAR (Station 2)
The one bar that served GIGANTIC margaritas and various cocktails. One cup serves about 4 people – but even so, you get really high from drinking so much, through a straw. These are really heavy, so you have to watch out for spillage and be very careful when handling the gigantic glasses. It was practically the only thing we cared about and I don’t know anything else about this bar – other than the fact that it is very happening amongst the tourists. 😉

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post, as much as I enjoyed writing it. There are a few more places in between – but I was probably too busy to take photos. One more point to add is to head to Jonah’s Milkshake (very famous in Boracay) at Station 1 for their signature fruit milkshakes. You won’t regret it! If you have more questions, let me know and I’ll try my best to answer them! 🙂